STS-51-L

The space shuttle Challenger disaster that occurred on January 28, 1986, marked one of the most devastating days in the history of space exploration. Just over a minute after the space shuttle lifted off, a malfunction in the spacecraft’s O-rings—rubber…

…primary goal of shuttle mission 51-L was to launch the second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-B). It also carried the Spartan Halley spacecraft, a small satellite that was to be released by Challenger and picked up two days later after observing Halley’s Comet during its closest approach to the…

McNair was assigned to the STS-51L mission of the space shuttle Challenger in January 1985. The primary goal of the mission was to launch the second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-B). It also carried the Spartan Halley spacecraft, a small satellite that McNair, along with mission specialist Judith Resnik,…